This is the 12th and final week of our Romans series. And if I did my math right, it’s taken about three months to go through this. And that’s with skipping a chapter here and there, and not really delving deeply into the chapters that we did study.
Speaking of skipping chapters, last week, we looked at Chapter 14, and this week, I’m going to skip Chapter 15 and go to Chapter 16. So if you have your Bibles, please turn with me there, Romans Chapter 16, and we’ll look at verses 17-20.
As you’re turning there, let me fill in the gap between the end of Chapter 14 and where we start today. Chapter 15 continues where Chapter 14 left off. Paul begins Chapter 15 by saying that we who are strong in our faith ought to bear with the weak, or new, Christians; and that we ought to be kind to our neighbor and not be self-seeking. Paul talks about accepting one another, meaning that the Kingdom of God is not reserved specifically for the Jews, but also for the non-Jew.
And then Paul begins to wind down his letter and tells the church of his intentions to visit Rome; and at the beginning of Chapter 16, he tells the Roman church to greet a wide variety of people that he names specifically.
Scripture: So that’s the gist from where we left off last week, so let’s go to our verses this morning, Chapter 16, starting with verse 17.
17 I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. 18 For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. 19 Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice because of you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.
20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
When I read this at first, I thought Paul was talking about those who were preaching a false gospel.
But the more I read it, the more I saw that he was talking about something different. He was talking about “those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way.”
Now that can include those who preach a false gospel, certainly. But it seems as if what Paul means here is the people who intentionally try to cause division or pull you away.
We, in the United States, have not had this problem until about the past 30 years or so, when everything began to get politicized. Remember, it began with a television show here or there that would make a jab at those of us with more conservative Christian beliefs? We tolerated it, maybe not inside, but on the outside.
Then it got to more of a campaign of sorts on television. Entertainers would start saying political things when they went up to accept an award, or in an interview, or whatever. Practically every single stand-up comedian would start making political jokes. Now, late-night TV isn’t filled with jokes anymore; it’s filled with political opinion given by former comedians. Christian shows started talking about politics. News began to go from reporting what happened to taking sides, and it seems to have become a game—a game that is tearing us apart. Over the past 30 years, the evening news has gone from banal to baneful. In other words, from boring to destructive. Some say that we are in a Cold Civil War, and the two sides of the media are to blame for their opposing reporting of the same subject. The protests in Los Angeles, the “No Kings” demonstration, or whatever that was, the issue going on in the Middle East, whatever it may be.
But the Lord says, “to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites.”
Let’s take a look at that. Notice Paul says specifically, “those who cause divisions.” I mentioned the news media and the entertainment industry. They’re more or less institutions, but do you know people personally who do this?
People who find it a sport to get into a ‘lively conversation.’ Maybe they do something to purposely incite a debate or push your buttons.
Well, what happens? A lively conversation turns into an argument, and then it just ruins everything, doesn’t it? It ruins your day, it ruins your relationship. It accomplishes nothing—nothing good anyway.
I’ve taken a break from social media—at least for a couple of weeks—because I’m trying to balance posting an intelligent point regarding standing up for what I believe in, and just keeping my mouth shut. There are so many things that I feel the need to speak out on, but does it do any good? Is it informative, or is it just incisive? I hope that it is informative.
But there have been many times when I’d post something on social media that I thought was informational or even lighthearted satire, and it only caused division. More on that later, but…
Lifehopeandtruth.com says, “There are more than 50 proverbs related to communication. These proverbs have a consistent theme: “Brief, thoughtful communication is better for us and others than lax, unguarded communication.” In other words, sometimes we need to just shut up. When we see our foot flying toward our mouth, remember there’s a proverb for that.”
Here are a few:
- Proverbs 10:19: “In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise.”
- Proverbs 13:3: “He who guards his mouth preserves his life, but he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction.”
- Proverbs 17:28: “Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace; when he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive.”
And James Chapter 3 is dedicated to taming the tongue. Verses 9 and 10 say, “9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.”
Going back to Romans 16, verse 17 also says that one of the ways in which some people who cause division will do so is by “[putting] obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned.”
Remember, the Pharisees tried to trap Jesus all the time. Of course, Jesus always had an answer, and Peter tells us we should be prepared to give an answer. But that doesn’t mean we always do have an answer to everything. Many times, these divisive people have an upper hand because they’re the ones instigating, and so it’s like they’ve come prepared to fight, and you haven’t come prepared to fight because you’re not there for that.
There are people, whether religious or not, who will try and trap you. They may think they are doing the right thing by trying to sway you to their side, but they’re not. They’re just causing division.
I’ve talked a lot about how Progressive Christianity has infiltrated a lot of churches. And I think that many Christians have been swayed to that because somebody—such as the Devil—has put an obstacle in their way––perhaps filling their heads with questions they can’t answer, or challenging them with certain Biblical passages that’s hard to answer—and if they can’t find the answer, or they don’t know how or where to find time-tested theologically accepted answers, then they begin to search for answers where it is more easily accessible. Like TV or TikTok or a YouTube influencer or their professors, or even their own mind.
We have opinions everywhere, and unfortunately, over time, our minds gravitate toward what we hear, which is why it is so important to take the time to deliberately read and hear the word of God. If we don’t get into a habit of doing so, we begin to lean into the logic of the world. If we don’t hear anything else but that, then it begins to make sense. Even people who have grown up in church set the Bible aside, they don’t make time to go to church anymore, and what happens?
There’s a meme on social media that you may have seen. It’s Matthew 7, scribbled out, except for the words, ‘judge not’ and above it the words, “This is how people in our world ‘read’ the Bible today.”
They’ve condensed the whole Bible down to one sentence. It used to be John 3:16, but it’s not anymore. It’s Matthew 7:1 because it’s a verse in the Bible that makes people feel as if it’s okay to do whatever they want. But there’s also another verse/ Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.”
Maybe those who have grown up in church, like I mentioned a minute ago, who set the Bible aside, maybe they’ve searched for that church that is Matthew 7:1 based. Not only do they find a verse, but they find a whole church that supports their newfound liberating view. A view that has deconstructed evangelical Christianity and now teaches a progressive Christianity.
What does Progressive Christianity progress toward? It essentially progresses through deconstructing the Bible, so it sets certain passages aside because those passages don’t make sense to certain people, passages about Hell and judgment, and so on.
I just saw a reel the other day where a church in Milwaukee had a praise band sing a song called “Thank God I’m Gay,” which included the F-word. And of course, when they sang that out loud, the congregation gave a rousing cheer.
See what I mean about Matthew 7:1. Following that as your main Bible verse to live by gives you a whole different gospel to live by. Anything goes. They cherry-pick “the nice stuff,” and then even butcher that. And I could go on and on and on with many more examples, and if you want more examples, just go to The Holy Nope on Facebook or Instagram and you’ll find them.
There was recently an article published in The Gospel Coalition website titled, “Three Surprises from New Research on Progressive and Conservative Christians.”
Those three surprises are:
1. Progressive Christians are more likely to establish their identity through politics, while conservative Christians find their identity in theology.
For example, progressive Christians emphasize political values relating to social justice issues as to determine who is part of their in-group; they tend to be less concerned about theological agreement. Conservative Christians, however, do not put strong emphasis on political agreement in order to determine if you are one of them—their major concern is whether you agree with them on core theological points
2. Conservative Christians are more likely than progressive Christians to defy political orthodoxy.
In other words, Conservative Christians will disagree with Conservative politics more than Liberal Christians will disagree with Liberal politics.
3. Progressive Christians are more likely to seek converts among conservative Christians than among non-Christians.
In other words, Progressives are not as interested in evangelizing to the unsaved and bringing people into the Kingdom, but converting Conservative Christians to their ideology.
The article goes on to say, Most progressive Christians do not base their religion on strict obedience to the Bible, nor do they feel a strong need to encourage others to accept their interpretation of the Bible or even to accept a Christian faith. The core of their religion is built upon a value set of inclusiveness, tolerance, and social justice. Christianity is just one of many paths to achieving a society of inclusion and justice for the marginalized. It is not necessarily a superior path. . . . (191)
The people most needing “conversion,” then, are not unbelievers but conservative Christians, which may explain why so many progressive Christians try to persuade their conservative counterparts to adopt their political ideology. Conservatives, not unbelievers, are their potential converts.
Now, why am I saying this? Because we may expect to be challenged by atheists and agnostics. But we need to be aware that the Church itself, or a group who calls themselves Christians—not just the Mormons or Jehovah’s Witnesses, are among the people in our day and age, who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned.
Like I said, the Pharisees were the religious people of the New Testament era who put pressure on Jesus to conform. They didn’t want to listen, and they couldn’t see the Messiah when he was right in front of their eyes. There comes a time when it’s best to just keep an arm’s length from them. Paul isn’t saying not to love them, but to try to avoid them. Avoiding them might lead to a happier life and a better relationship with them if you keep them at an arm’s length. Another reason why I’m slowing down my social media posts.
Now, Paul goes on to talk about those who deceive for their own pleasure. And I think he’s talking about charlatans here. For the sake of time, I’m not going to go into that, but if you are wise, you can turn on your TV and find them preaching on Sunday mornings. Turn the TV off and come to church instead.
Paul ends this by saying, “19 Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice because of you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. 20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.”
So he’s not chastising them, but warning them. He’s giving them a specific instruction and clarifying that they’ve been good. They have a good reputation. But don’t ruin your reputation, and don’t be deceived for your own sake.
This is good advice. We can have a good reputation, we can be on track, we can be walking with the Lord, and then our foot slips. And instead of getting back up again, instead of taking Christ’s hand, we say ‘no thank you,’ and Jesus, being a gentleman, respects our request and goes away.
I was having breakfast with someone just yesterday, and we talked a little bit about that, with the way we see the Charismatic movement heading. A lot of Pentecostal/Charismatic churches seem to be going off into some theology that’s nonsensical. I came across this from The Holy Nope, where they shared a meme from someone in the Pentecostal movement that said,
“My wife has woken up at 2:20 for the last four nights in a row and couldn’t get back to sleep. Anyone got any heavy revelation on this?”
That’s how this New Apostolic Revelation thinks. It could very well just be insomnia. But they’re always looking for a miracle. And if they can’t find one, they’ll try to chase one, and if they can’t chase one down, they’ll fabricate one—and they’ll believe it.
You have to be wise and discerning about these things and not go chasing after the goosebumps. How many times does God just put his face in his palm and shake his head at his people down here?
That’s why God gave Paul a heart for God’s people, and so he says, “but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.”
I don’t know about you, but I didn’t want to know evil. I didn’t want to know the meaning of dirty jokes or all the swear words before I was 10 years old. I was busy being a kid and enjoying life. I wanted to lean towards Christianity because I could plainly see which path led to joy and peace and which path didn’t.
Be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. Like I said before, we’re bombarded with stuff on TV and on the radio. It’s hard to be innocent anymore. It’s why we have to be careful about what we feed our spirit.
Paul ends this on a positive note with verse 20, and I would like to do the same. “20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.”
In other words, as Precept Austin Commentary puts it:
I know that, even with your faithful obedience, you will need a daily supply of God’s grace to direct and strengthen you. You need His wisdom to give you wisdom to recognize false teachers. You need His grace to give you comfort and patience when you are attacked by Satan’s emissaries.
A Puritan by the name of Thomas Brooks said:
Christ, our champion, has already won the field, and will shortly set our feet upon the necks of our spiritual enemies. Satan is a foiled adversary. Christ has led him captive, and triumphed over him upon the cross. Christ has already overcome him, and put weapons into your hands, that you may overcome him also and set your feet upon his neck. Though Satan [is like] a roaring lion, Christ is the lion of the tribe of Judah, and will make Satan fly and fall before you. Let Satan do his worst, yet you shall have the honor and the happiness to triumph over him. Cheer up, you precious sons of Zion, for the certainty and sweetness of victory will abundantly recompense you for all the pains you have taken in making resistance against Satan’s temptations. The broken horns of Satan shall be trumpets of our triumph and the coronets of our joy.
Featured Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay
